Broken Bird
by Makokam
Summary: Mindy has lost everything, and now she's just trying to move on.
1. Chapter 1

**_Mako's Message: _**_This is not what I intended to write. When I got to the end of this though, it just... felt finished. Continuing felt weird, and re-writing it would take away the impact, I felt, so here it is. It works as an intro, which is what it was always supposed to be. However, now I HAVE to write more, instead of just maybe writing more if I felt like it._

_Anyway, enjoy._

"So, what made you want to switch doctors?"

"The last one was starting to piss me off."

"Well, I have his notes here, but if you don't mind I'd like to ask you some general questions. Get to know you for myself. Is that okay?"

"Fine."

"Would you tell me about your parents?"

"They're dead."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Would you tell me how it happened?"

"My mother committed suicide while she was pregnant with me. My Daddy died in the line of duty."

"That certainly is tragic. When did your father die?"

"When I was eleven."

"And who raised you after that? Grandparents? An Aunt or an Uncle?"

"His partner, Marcus."

"Can you tell me about him?"

"He was a cop. A good one. He's dead too."

"I see. Do you have any else close to you? A boyfriend, perhaps?"

"I did. He died."

"Anyone else?"

"...I have a roommate."

"Are you two close?"

.oOo.

A pistol was held in shaking hands, a look of mixed panic and rage on the wielders face, pointed at a girl who was too shocked to be scarred, "How did you find it? How!"

"You... you said I could borrow some of your art supplies. I was..I was just trying to put them back and I knocked the box off the shelf. It just fell open... I was just trying to put it back. I swear."

The holder of the gun, another girl, no older than the one on the floor, lunged forward and grabbed the girl by the hair and pressed the gun into her face, "Just fell open? Do you think I'd just leave something like that unlocked!"

"It's the truth! I swear!" tears were starting to run down her face, "I won't tell anyone. Your secrets safe."

The rage in her eyes only intensified, though the panic started to fade.

"Please. Mindy," the girl spoke, her voice trembling, "I thought we were friends."

And then Mindy froze. Her eyes widened as if she suddenly realized just what it was she was doing, and who she was doing it to. Her grip slowly started to loosen and, hands still shaking, she turned the guns safety on and then let it fall to the floor. She gulped then said, "Cayla... I... I didn't... I am so, so, sorry."

"It's okay. I'm okay. You didn't hurt me," Cayla said, wrapping her arms around Mindy, who was now trembling like a leaf in a windstorm as the horror of what she almost did hit her full force.

Cayla helped Mindy to her feet, and supported her as they walked into the kitchen, "It's okay. I'm okay. You're okay. Let's get you some tea."

Mindy barely managed to choke back the sobs as she nodded her head. The purple jumpsuit, with matching wig and cape, lay forgotten on the bedroom floor behind them.

.oOo.

"Yeah. We're pretty close. She's... she's my best friend."

"That's good. Everyone needs someone to support them."

"Yeah. Yeah they do."


	2. Chapter 2

**_Mako's Message:_**_ Yup. Another chapter of this story. Were any of you hoping for it? I hope so, cause there'll be more after this one. It's a little longer than the last one, but still pretty short. Hope you enjoy it, even if you don't like it._

* * *

><p>"So, I'd like to talk more about your relationships with other people, if that's alright."<p>

"Okay."

"Now, you said you had a boyfriend, and that he died."

"Yes."

"How long ago was this?"

"Five years ago."

"You don't have to answer this question if it's too painful of course, but how did he die?"

.oOo.

The setting sun paints the alley in red and orange. A black car sits with it's trunk open, a girl, perhaps twelve years old, is bound and gagged in the trunk. Her face is tear stained and her eyes are wide and amazed.

Two figures, dressed as superheroes, are destroying the men who had taken the girl hostage. One of them, a girl in a purple cape and wig, uses a staff to knock one of the kidnappers gun away before delivering three rapid blows to the kidneys, groin, and head. The man crumples to the ground as the girl in purple ducks and spins under a gunshot and sweeps the shooters legs out from under him.

The man on the ground pulls himself up and finds his gun. He is unsteady, but raises the gun with both hands and points it at the girl in purple. The other hero, dressed in a yellow trimmed suit of green, leaps in between the man with gun and the girl in purple. He casts a baton at the shooter, and it strikes him true, right between the eyes. The shooter jerks, the trigger is pulled, the gun goes off, and the girl in purple turns when she feels something wet hit her on the back of her neck.

The man in green is still standing, but only for a moment, the back of his head looking like a smashed melon. He collapses to the ground, blood pooling rapidly around him. The action has frozen, but just for an instant, as they witness the fall of an iconic hero.

And then the girl in purple dives into a roll and comes to her feet with one of the kidnappers guns in her hand, she fires four shots so fast that only one is heard, and the kidnappers fall dead.

She walks to the girl in the trunk and cuts her free then walks over to the body of her partner, her lover, and sinks to her knees.

The child get's out of the trunk, unsure of what to do. She begins to speak, "Thank you-"

"Just GO!" the girl in the purple screams, her voice is full of rage, and pain, and at the very end it cracks as despair overtakes her, "Just go."

The girl runs off, leaving her savior sobbing in the darkening alley.

.oOo.

"Random gunfire."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. ... Well, I'm sorry he died at all."

"So am I."

"And you've led me to believe that he was your first and only significant other."

"He was."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Well, excuse me for saying so, but you are a rather beautiful and intelligent young woman. Why haven't you dated anyone since?"

"... "

"You're still grieving?"

"He... he meant more to me than I can tell. I'd have died for him."

"Do you wish you had?"

"I..."

"Go on."

"I wish I could have stopped it. I was right there. If we could have switched places I would have."

"Did he love you the same way?"

"Yes."

"Do you think he would have died for you?"

"He did."

"He must have loved you very much."

"We were partners... soul mates."

"Would you have wanted him to move on, if it had been you that'd died, or spend the rest of his life mourning your death?"

"I'd...want him to be happy."

"So why aren't you letting yourself move on?"

"..."

"Is there anyone you can think of, that you might like to be with?"  
>.oOo.<p>

Music plays with an infectious rhythm, urging all those in the club to dance. One girl resists the call though. Long blond hair with the barest hint of a curl streams down around her shoulders as she stands, hunched over the bar, stirring the last chips of ice around her drink and into oblivion.

A girl with pale skin and dark hair comes comes up to the bar, almost slamming into it, "C'mon Mindy" she pleads, "Come dance. You can just dance with me if you want. Fuck with men's minds an all that, right?"

"Why did you bring me here Cayla?"

"Because you need to have fun!" she says, tugging on Mindy's arm, "I'm tired of seeing you moping around. You need to get laid. It'll improve your mood."

Mindy turned her head around, her hair falling in front of her face, leaving only one eye to glare at her roomate.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. You need something to perk you up."

"I appreciate the thought. But fucking some random guy isn't my idea of stress relief."

"Don't knock it if you haven't tried it."

Mindy snorted.

"Whatever's got you down gorgeous," A young man with short cropped black hair and a too bright smile said, "I can make it all better"

The shift in Mindy's expression was subtle, but it made a world of difference. The glass in front of her was picked up, and it's contents thrown into the man's face.

The man splutters and wipes the alcohol from his eyes, "The fuck!"

Cayla immediately stepped in between Mindy and the man, "I am so sorry about my friend, she just got out of a really bad relationship and you look just like her ex, so I"m sorry, but please just walk away." as she said and handed him a twenty.

The man glared but took the twenty and stormed off.

Cayla slumped into a chair next to Mindy, "Well, there goes the rest of my drinking money."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I did if I ever wanted to come back here."

"You just had to act like you didn't know me," Mindy said as she signaled for a another drink.

"I'm not going to deny my best friend."

"Thanks."

"No problem. I'm going to see what Crystal is up to. Don't get into any more trouble."

"No promises."

When her glass was filled again she took a small sip before beginning to stir the ice around again.

It wasn't long before someone tried again, "Hey gorgeous, you look lonely. I could keep you company all night."

And then she needed another drink.

She really had no idea what she was doing here. It was just part of what she did to be a good friend. Cayla wanted to go out so she'd go out. She rarely ended up drinking so she usually ended up as the designated driver. And it wasn't that she didn't drink, she did and enjoyed it, it was that places like this just sent her into a funk.

She didn't like seeing all the happy, carefree, people hooking up for the night and forgetting about them the next day when the person she'd loved more than anyone, the one person she connected with in a way no one else understood, had been ripped from her before they're lives together had even gotten started.

She didn't make disposable connections.

"Hey, why so lonely?"

Her hand came up, glass held ready, and then her wrist was caught, "Wait! Here, let's trade." Her drink was taken from her hand and it was replaced by another, "No sense wasting the good stuff."

She turned her focus to the man who'd been sitting unobtrusively beside her all evening as he drank, what had a moment ago been, her drink.

"Hey, what the fuck-"

Mindy put up her hand to silence the man, then flicked her fingers off towards the rest of the club, "Shoo."

He, the one who'd swapped drinks with her, whose drink she was still holding, had shoulder length black hair and blue eyes partially hidden behind the glare on his glasses. He was pale, and seemed like he belonged in the club even less than she did, "What was that?" she asked him.

"Oh, well, you kept ordering some pretty expensive vodka, and I'm sitting here drinking the bargain basement shit, so when I saw you about to waste another glass of it I just decided to go for it."

"You caught my hand."

"Oh, well," he suddenly seemed embarrassed, "I was kind of expecting it, after the last two."

"Hey, Bitch!" the man said as he grabbed Mindy roughly by the shoulder and spun her around to face him, "What the fuck is your problem?"

"The fuck is YOUR problem?" she said, shoving him back.

He started to step forward like he was going to grab her again, or maybe hit her, when the other one stepped in between them, "Okay, stop. The lady has made it clear she doesn't want anything to do with you. Please leave."

Seeing him off the stool, standing between her and her would-be attacker, Mindy realized that he wasn't much taller than her, and that he was a fair bit shorter than the man who was harassing her. It brought a small smile to her lips.

She put a hand on his arm, "It's okay, you don't have to do this."

He turned his head to look at her, and the other man shoved him roughly aside, "Now look here bitch, I want an apolo-" he'd tried to grab her by the shoulder, but she caught his wrist lightly with both hands.

"No. You're going to leave."

The man's face turned to rage and he moved to grab her again,"Fuck yo-"

What she did exactly, was done too fast for anyone there to see, but a loud crack and a scream of pain could be clearly heard over the music. Dozens of eyes turned to see a man bent over at the waist, with his arm, bent in a way it shouldn't be, in the hands of a girl a good six inches shorter than him.

She grimaced, "Aw shit." and released him to cover her eyes.

The club's security was heading over to them as the man with the broken arm collapsed to the floor moaning in pain.

"C'mon." the other one said, and grabbed her wrist and pulled her away. She allowed herself to be dragged off into the crowd and out through a back door that had been propped open so an employee could get in and out.

They ran down an alley and across the street to a coffee shop. He'd let go of her after they'd left the club, but she'd followed along, not really knowing why. He sat down at a table and she joined him, "You okay?" he asked her.

"Oh, I'm fine. How about you?"

"I'm having the time of my life, thanks. But are you sure you're okay? You didn't look okay after you broke that guys arm."

She smiled ruefully, "I didn't mean to do that. It was a reflex."

"That's a hell of a reflex."

Mindy just shrugged.

"So, uh, did you want to get something to drink?" he asked.

"No, I'm alright. I really should go find my friend. She's probably worried about me."

"Can't argue with that." he said and started scribbling something on a napkin, "I think it's time I called it a night anyway, but," he handed her the napkin he'd written ten numbers on, "If you ever want to get a coffee, lunch, ya know whatever, gimmie a call. You cant tell me more about your amazing and untamed reflexes."

Ten minutes later, Cayla and Mindy where getting into a car, Mindy finishing up the story of what'd happened after Cayla had left her at the bar.

Cayla looked at her expectantly, "So, you gonna call him?"

.oOo.

"Maybe."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Mako's Message:** This chapter is a little...jumpy. So if you review, be sure to let me know what you think of the format._

* * *

><p>"So, you haven't mentioned that boy you met since you first mentioned him. Did you ever call him?"<p>

.oOo.

Mindy wore a smile on her face as she walked through the door with Cayla. This was her idea of a good night out. Games of skill, burgers, and maybe a little something hard to drink.

They came around a corner and the smile fell off her face as her eyes landed on _him._

"Shit" she said, jumped back around the corner, grabbing Cayla by the collar and dragging her back with her.

Cayla gagged and coughed as Mindy plastered herself to the wall and slowly peaked around the corner, trying to see if he'd seen her, "What the hell is your problem Mindy?"

Mindy shushed her, "He's here."

"Huh?"

"The guy from the club the other night. He's here."

"Well yeah, I invited him."

"W_hat?_"

"Well, you obviously weren't going to call him so I had to."

"If I wasn't going to call him don't you think that _means_ something?" she hissed as her hands came up like she was going to claw Cayla's face off."

"Yeah, it means you need my help if you're going to make any more friends."

"I don't _need_anymore friends."

Cayla rolled her eyes, "Sure you don't. Come on, let's go meet them."

"Them?"

"I've got a date too," And then she stepped out into sight and waved, "Hey boys, waiting long?"

.oOo.

"I saw him again, yes."

"So? How did it go?"

.oOo.

Mindy picked up a basketball and spun it in her hands, "I'm sorry about this," she said, then threw the ball into the hoop.

"Sorry about what?" he asked as he took another shot at the basket.

"About you being brought here under false pretenses," she said as she passed the ball back and forth between her hands, then threw the ball through the hoop at it's furthest point.

"Oh. It's okay. At least I'm getting another chance."

She smirked at him, "I wouldn't go that far."

He smirked back at her for just a second before looking away and taking another shot.

The buzzer sounded the end of the game, and Mindy's third victory, "So Joshua, wanna go for five-out-of-seven?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Nah. Let's try something else. How about the shooting gallery."

"I'm better at that one."

"Ski-Ball?"

"Maybe."

"I have a feeling 'maybe' is going to be as good as it gets."

"So?"

"So let's play ski-ball."

They walked over to the ski-ball ramps, Mindy swiped her card and as the balls rolled down said, "Game on, bitch."

.oOo.

"It..."

.oOo.

Mindy and Joshua leaned against a railing as Cayla and her date played a dancing game. Cayla took every opportunity to shove him off rhythm, and he reciprocating in kind, laughing the entire time.

Joshua turned his head to look at Mindy, smiling as she watched her friend play, "She seems fun," he said to her.

"She is."

"What about me?"

Mindy looked at him with a cool expression and shrugged "You're okay."

He feigned offense, "Just okay?"

Mindy rolled her eyes and smirked, "Well, I guess you're better than just 'okay'."

"That's good," he said, as he leaned in to kiss her.

.oOo.

"...went well."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that. So you'll be seeing him again?"

.oOo.

Mindy stood frozen as he leaned into her.

He was mere inches away and she had no idea what to do.

An inch away, and her head slowly tilted up towards his.

Half an inch and she started trembling.

A hair's breadth and she turns her face and pushes him away.

She runs away. Out of the game room, out of the building. She runs to Cayla's car and pulls at the door only to find it locked. Leaning against the car with one hand, she covers her mouth with the other.

Moment's later Cayla is there, "Mindy, what's wrong?"

"I want to go home."

"Wait, what did he do?"

"Nothing. He didn't do anything."

"Then wh-"

Mindy turned to her friend, "Can we just go home? Please?"

Cayla could see she was on the edge of tears, which meant if she was anyone else, she'd be bawling her eyes out right now, "...yeah. Yeah. We can go home." She opened the door for her and Mindy slipped inside without another word. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to say goodbye to the guys."

Mindy nodded.

A few minutes later Cayla returned to find Mindy staring out the window, her hand still covering her mouth, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have set you up like that."

"No, you didn't do anything wrong. In fact," her voice hitched, "you did everything right. I'm just fucked up."

.oOo.

"I don't know."


End file.
